Dr. Doogie

Yesterday I crawled down the stairs (literally), cursing our decision to purchase a non-accessible home. Thankfully the occasions I am without my prosthesis are limited, but when they do occur I find myself frustrated and limited. Navigating through tight doorways, trying to wheel over transition strips and crawling up and down the stairs make it laborious to move between rooms. The next time we purchase a home, I am going to be more aware of my accessibility needs because feeling limited in your own home stinks!

After trudging my way downstairs, we hopped into the car and headed to the doctor for my first post-op visit. My new doctor is about 45 minutes away, which is a vast improvement over the 2.5 hours I used to drive. While I still have the utmost respect for my surgeon in Baltimore, the distance coupled with the difficulty scheduling an appointment led me to look for a local option. Dr. B came highly recommended by Elliot (my prosthetist), so I had no doubt I was in good hands.  I know that Elliot would not steer me in the wrong direction, especially since I'm both his patient and employee.

Although I was content with Elliot's endorsement, I was nervous meeting Dr. B for the first time. I knew that this individual would eventually have me on a table, wielding a knife over my unconscious body. If you think about it, that type of relationship requires a lot of trust!

When we first met, I was surprised by his youthful appearance. He immediately demonstrated confidence and competence, yet I found myself resisting the impulse to call him Dr. Doogie while offering him Chips Ahoy cookies. With age has come wisdom, and I know that it is not advantageous to insult the doctor with the knives.

Sitting in my geriatric electric lift La-Z-Boy recliner, I've sadly concluded that I am at the stage where my age surpasses that of most of my doctors. The same holds true for Timmy's specialists,  Robby's most experienced teachers, his speech therapists and all of his hockey coaches. I am now older than the majority of the professionals in my life.

Although my limb is still painful and sore, I know that Dr. Doogie did a great job. I am healing well and soon will be back on both feet. Not as soon as I would like of course, but perhaps impatience comes with age. Perhaps it is time to investigate some home modifications, after all I'm not getting any younger.